Messaging system for organizations

ABSTRACT

A messaging system, in one embodiment, can establish messaging accounts for a plurality of organizations (e.g. businesses) to allow customers or users of the organizations to conduct two-way messaging sessions between a customer and an organization. The messaging system can use a registration portal to allow an organization to set up a business/organization messaging account by providing account information. The account information can then be used to update one or more searchable databases that allow a customer to have multiple entry points into a messaging session with each of the registered businesses in the messaging system. For example, a search through a web browser or a map application can provide search results that contain or otherwise provide access to a selectable messaging option that is presented on a customer&#39;s device.

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/507,163, filed May 16, 2017, which is incorporatedherein by reference.

BACKGROUND

The embodiments described in this disclosure relate to messagingsystems, such as online text messaging systems or systems based on theShort Message Service (SMS) on cellular telephones and smartphones orsimilar systems that allow users to send and receive text (and othercontent) in a near-instantaneous way if both users are “online.”

The use of text messaging systems began many years ago. For example,wireless cellular telephone carriers, such as Verizon or AT&T, allowedtext messages through the Short Message Service for cell phones in the1990's before smartphones were available. Typically, the amount of datatransmitted for SMS messages has been limited by rules established bythe carriers. Recently, as the use of smartphones (e.g., iPhones) andtablet computers (e.g., iPads) has increased, the messaging systems havedeveloped the ability to send images, such as photos or emojis orvideos. In addition, messaging systems such as iMessage from Apple Inc.of Cupertino, Calif. have allowed users to also send and receive textand images through “public” networks which include “public” WiFi accesspoints (e.g., at airports, coffee shops, etc.) and the Internet (inaddition to using a wireless carrier's cellular telephone network).

SUMMARY OF THE DESCRIPTION

A messaging system, in one embodiment, can establish messaging accountsfor a plurality of organizations, such as a plurality of businesses, toallow customers or users of the organizations to conduct two-waymessaging sessions between a customer and an organization. The messagingsystem can use a registration portal to allow an organization to set upa business/organization messaging account by providing accountinformation to a messaging system. The account information can then beused to update one or more searchable databases that allow a customer,who also has a messaging account with the messaging system, to havemultiple entry points into a messaging session with each of theregistered businesses in the messaging system. For example, a searchthrough a web browser or a map application can provide search resultsthat contain or otherwise provide access to a selectable messagingoption that is presented on a customer's device and which can beselected by the customer or user to initiate a two-way messaging sessionwith the business or organization.

In one embodiment, a method performed by a messaging system can includethe following operations: storing and receiving account information froma plurality of organizations, wherein the account information is used tocreate one or more messaging accounts for each organization to conductone or more messaging sessions with customers or users of eachorganization; updating one or more searchable databases to include atleast a portion of the account information for each organization of theplurality of organizations; receiving a search query from a first userand performing a search through the one or more searchable databasesusing the received search query; and transmitting search results fromthe search, the search results transmitted to the first user's device,and the search results providing access to at least one displayedmessaging option to initiate a messaging session with the firstorganization that is one of the organizations in the plurality oforganizations. In one embodiment, the method can further includeestablishing, in response to the first user's selection of the displayedmessaging option, a two-way messaging session between the first user'sdevice and the first organization through one or more messaging serversthat are part of the messaging system. In one embodiment, the one ormore messaging servers are used by members of the public to send textmessages and other content to other members of the public in addition touse by the organizations to conduct messaging sessions with thecustomers or the users of the organizations. In one embodiment, thesemembers of the public own or use devices that include messagingapplications that are configured to operate with the messaging serversin order to send the text messages and other content to other members ofthe public.

In one embodiment, the account information includes, for eachorganization, at least one or more of the following: (a) a messagingidentifier for use by a messaging identification system, the messagingidentifier specifying a cloud storage account for sending, receiving,and storing messages; (b) brand information for an organization; (c)data specifying to whom, within an organization, a messaging session isdirected; (d) location information for one or more stores or facilitiesof an organization; (e) a selected messaging services platform (MSP)that acts as a helpdesk or surrogate for an organization; (f) dataspecifying one or more limitations on the amount of messaging sessionsthat can be initiated or concurrently maintained or established with anorganization; or (g) one or more customizable fields that can becustomized by an organization for use during messaging sessions with theorganization. In one embodiment, the one or more searchable databasesare updated to include some but not all of the account information foran organization. In one embodiment, at least some of the accountinformation is stored on one or more of: (a) a message registry; or (b)a messaging identification system that uses one or more messagingidentifiers of an organization to initiate a messaging session. In oneembodiment, the two-way messaging session is established by themessaging identification system which provides connection oridentification information about one or more devices of the firstorganization which transmits messages through the one or more messagingservers. In one embodiment, the connection information can include pushnotification tokens that are used to push messages through the one ormore messaging servers and the identification information can includecryptographic data that is used to generate encrypted messages.

In one embodiment, the one or more searchable databases provide multipleentry points to a messaging session with an organization such as thefirst organization. In one embodiment, the multiple entry points can atleast include two or more of: (a) a search using a web browser; (b) asearch using a map application which displays maps that can indicate aposition of a user's device using one or more location services, such asGPS, etc.; (c) a search using a search utility application such as anapplication which is similar to Spotlight on Mac OS X or iOS; or (d) aspeech recognition assistant that causes a search to be performed, suchas the Siri speech recognition assistant on iOS devices. In oneembodiment, the search utility application can search through localindexed content on a user's device and also cause a search through oneor more searchable databases hosted on one or more systems that areremote from the user's device. In one embodiment, a two-way messagingsession can include a first embedded data specifying a purpose or intentfor the messages and second embedded data specifying a group within thefirst organization that is in the messaging session with a user orcustomer, and the first and second embedded data can be added by theorganization during a messaging session. In one embodiment, a messagingsystem for organizations or businesses can maintain a data acquisitionportal for receiving account information from the plurality oforganizations to set up one or more messaging accounts for thoseorganizations. In one embodiment, a user's device can be identified toan organization by a phone number or email address or customer number.In one embodiment, account information for a customer of a business canbe automatically provided with or auto populated in a message betweenthe user or customer and the business.

In one embodiment, a messaging system or a search system can receivesearch queries from a plurality of customers of the plurality ofbusinesses and return search results that are responsive to the searchqueries, and each of those search results provide access to at least onedisplayed messaging option which can be selected to initiate a messagingsession with a business or organization which has established amessaging account through, for example, a data acquisition portal whichreceives account information.

In one embodiment, a business may update the account information to takeinto account new locations or facilities or to remove old locations orfacilities which are no longer being used or add an MSP or change otherparameters or controls associated with the business's messaging account.In one embodiment, the updated account information can then be used toupdate the one or more searchable databases with the updated accountinformation to indicate new locations or to remove existing locationswhich are no longer supported by the business or organization. In oneembodiment, a search result provided on a client device can also includecontact information for a business or organization.

A method in one embodiment performed by user's device can include thefollowing operations: displaying a messaging option for a firstorganization, wherein the messaging option is configured to establish atwo-way messaging session with a customer or user of the firstorganization using first account information of the first organization,and wherein the first account information is maintained with otheraccount information for a plurality of organizations by a messagingsystem that provides a messaging service to a plurality of user devicesthat are each configured with a messaging application designed to sendand receive messages through the messaging system; receiving, on a userdevice, a selection of the messaging option within a non-messagingapplication; and establishing, in the messaging application on the userdevice, a two-way messaging session between the first organization andthe user device using the first account information. In one embodiment,the two-way messaging session can last for an extended period of timeand be stored in a transcript of a conversation over that extendedperiod of time such as over a week or month or several years, and thetranscript can be stored on the user's device and one or more devicesoperated by the first organization. The conversation with the firstorganization can be displayed in a list of conversations on the user'sdevice, and that list can include conversations with other users who arenot businesses. Thus, a customer of a business can, through a user'sdevice, initiate a messaging session with the business on Monday andturn off the user's device, and resume the messaging session two dayslater on the same or different user device and then resume the messagingsession again on the following Monday with the entire set of messagesstored in the transcript that defines the conversation with thebusiness. In one embodiment, the first account information can specifywhether a surrogate (e.g., an MSP) responds on behalf of the firstorganization, and can include data specifying one or more limitations onthe amount of messaging sessions that can be concurrently maintained orestablished with the first organization. In one embodiment, a firstresponse from the first organization in the two-way messaging sessioncan include an estimated response time or wait time. In one embodiment,this messaging option can be displayed through a search result of asearch of one or more databases containing account information of aplurality of businesses or organizations. The searches through the oneor more databases can provide multiple entry points to a messagingsession with the first organization.

A method in one embodiment performed by a set of one or more dataprocessing systems (e.g., a set of servers that form a messaging system)can include the following operations: receiving and storing accountinformation from a plurality of organizations including a firstorganization, the account information used to create one or moremessaging accounts for each organization to conduct one or moremessaging sessions with customers or users of each organization througha messaging system that provides a messaging service to a plurality ofuser devices that each include a messaging application that isconfigured to send and receive messages through the messaging system,wherein a first account information for the first organization includesdata specifying one or more limitations on the amount of onlinemessaging sessions that can be initiated or maintained or establishedwith the first organization; receiving a request, from a first userdevice, to initiate a messaging session with the first organization;determining whether an account of online messaging sessions between thefirst organization and a plurality of customers or users of the firstorganization exceeds the one or more limitations for the firstorganization; and initiating the messaging session between the firstuser device and the first organization when the determined amount doesnot exceed the one or more limitations.

The methods and systems described herein can be implemented by dataprocessing systems, such as smartphones, tablet computers, desktopcomputers, laptop computers, server systems, and other data processingsystems, and other consumer electronic devices. The methods and systemsdescribed herein can also be implemented by one or more data processingsystems which execute executable computer program instructions, storedon one or more non-transitory machine readable media that cause the oneor more data processing systems to perform the one or more methodsdescribed herein when the program instructions are executed. Thus, theembodiments described herein can include methods, data processingsystems, and non-transitory machine readable media.

The above summary does not include an exhaustive list of all embodimentsin this disclosure. All systems and methods can be practiced from allsuitable combinations of the various aspects and embodiments summarizedabove, and also those disclosed in the Detailed Description below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is illustrated by way of example and notlimitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which likereferences indicate similar elements.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart which illustrates a method which can be performedby a messaging system according to one or more embodiments describedherein.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart which illustrates a method which can be performedon a client device or user device which is in communication with one ormore messaging servers.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a messaging system which includes a pluralityof client devices which can be operated by customers of businesses andwhich engage in messaging sessions with those businesses through themessaging servers after the businesses have established a messagingaccount.

FIG. 4 shows an example of fields which may be included in aregistration database according to one or more embodiments describedherein.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a client device which can be used by acustomer or user of a business according to one or more embodimentsdescribed herein.

FIG. 6A shows an example of an entry point for beginning a messagingsession with a business through the use of search results displayed on aclient device operated by a customer of a business having a messagingaccount.

FIG. 6B shows another example of an entry point into a messaging sessionaccording to one embodiment.

FIGS. 7A, 7B, 7C, 7D, 7E, 7F, 7G, 7H, 7I, 7J, 7K, 7L, 7M, and 7N show anexample of a messaging session between a customer and a businessaccording to one embodiment described herein.

FIGS. 8A and 8B show an alternative embodiment for picking a topic of amessaging session with a business.

FIGS. 9A, 9B, 9C, 9D, 9E, 9F, 9G, 9H, and 9I show another example of amessaging session between a customer and a business according to oneembodiment.

FIGS. 10A, 10B, and 10C show an embodiment on a customer's device forauthenticating the customer to a business according to one embodiment.

FIGS. 11A, 11B, and 11C show an example of business information beingprovided to a customer or user on the customer's device according to oneembodiment.

FIG. 12 is an example of a data processing system which can be used withone or more embodiments described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various embodiments and aspects will be described with reference todetails discussed below, and the accompanying drawings will illustratethe various embodiments. The following description and drawings areillustrative and are not to be construed as limiting. Numerous specificdetails are described to provide a thorough understanding of variousembodiments. However, in certain instances, well-known or conventionaldetails are not described in order to provide a concise discussion ofembodiments.

Reference in the specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment”means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic describedin conjunction with the embodiment can be included in at least oneembodiment. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in variousplaces in the specification do not necessarily all refer to the sameembodiment. The processes depicted in the figures that follow areperformed by processing logic that comprises hardware (e.g. circuitry,dedicated logic, etc.), software, or a combination of both. Although theprocesses are described below in terms of some sequential operations, itshould be appreciated that some of the operations described may beperformed in a different order. Moreover, some operations may beperformed in parallel rather than sequentially.

The various embodiments described herein relate to messaging systemssuch as text messaging systems or “chat” messaging systems or othersystems which allow devices to communicate messages between the devices.For example, iMessage from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. is an exampleof a messaging service for iOS devices and Mac (OS X) computers.Typically a messaging system includes a plurality of client devices,each including at least one messaging application and a set of one ormore messaging servers that can receive messages from client devices andtransmit messages to other client devices. A client device can be acommunication device such as a smartphone, or tablet computer, or adesktop computer or a laptop computer or a wearable device, or anonboard computer, or other data processing systems or other consumerelectronic devices. In one embodiment, the client device can include aconventional touchscreen that can both display images and also accepttouch inputs from a user. The touch screen on the communication devicecan display the user interface of the messaging application which caninclude a message transcript and an on-screen keyboard below the messagetranscript. In addition, the user interface of the messaging applicationcan include a username indicating the recipient, in one embodiment, ofmessages sent from the communication device during a messaging session.In addition, the user interface can include a text entry region whichindicates the content of the text entered by the user before it is sent;in a sense, the text entry region is a text staging area indicating textthat is ready to be sent to the recipient. Examples of various userinterfaces for messaging applications are provided herein, such as, forexample, FIGS. 7A through 7N as well as other figures.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a public messaging system that is extended toinclude businesses which register for messaging services through thesame messaging system that supports members of the public. In oneembodiment, each member of the public uses or owns a device configuredwith at least one messaging application to communicate with othersimilar devices through one or more messaging servers that are designedto allow the communication of messages between client devices or betweena client device and a device operated by a business. In one embodiment,the messaging may be near instantaneous for users who are both onlineand active at the time of a messaging session. In a typical messagingsystem, there can be millions of client devices communicating through aset of messaging servers and the messages (and attachments) can beencrypted using techniques known in the art. The messages can includerich content such as images, videos, animated content, etc. In oneembodiment, one set of servers can receive and transmit text messagesand another set of servers can be configured to receive non-textcontent, such as images or other attachments and provide those images orattachments in download operations to receiving devices in response torequests from those receiving devices to obtain the images orattachments. In the example shown in FIG. 3, client devices 171 and 173may be smartphones, speakers with computing capability, or laptopcomputers with displays, any mixture of those, or other communicationdevices that are configured with one or more messaging applications tocommunicate with one or more messaging servers 169 which are part of amessaging system. In one embodiment, the messaging servers 169 can beservers which operate the iMessage messaging system from Apple Inc. ofCupertino, Calif. The messaging servers 169 can be part of a messagingsystem that can also include one or more identity servers and one ormore servers for cloud based storage for temporary storage of messages(for delivery of messages to devices that were offline when a messagewas sent) and long term archival storage of messages and other relatedcontent such as attachments to the messages. The identity servers canregister user devices and provide storage for identification andcryptographic information for each user device; for example, theidentity servers can store one or more public keys for each user andtokens used to push messages, through the messaging servers, todesignated recipients of the messages. Further information about amessaging system that includes messaging servers, identity servers andcloud storage can be found in U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.62/466,325, filed Mar. 2, 2017, which application is incorporated hereinby reference. As described further herein, the messaging system can alsoinclude systems (at one or both of the user client devices and theservers in the system) to manage settings or preferences for messagingsessions.

In the embodiments described herein, the messaging system can beextended to include businesses or other organizations which registerwith the registration service through, for example, a data acquisitionportal server 155 which can be one or more servers that serve as aportal to acquire data from businesses or other organizations which seekto register for a messaging service for businesses. In the example shownin FIG. 3, a business messaging system 151 and another businessmessaging system 153 can each be used, to both register for a businessmessaging service and also perform the operation of conducting messagingsessions with customers or users of the business. In addition, one ormore messaging services platform (MSP) can also register to act as ahelpdesk or surrogate for a business that is registered to conductmessaging sessions through the messaging system such as the messagingsystem shown in FIG. 3. For example, the messaging services platform caninclude one or more messaging systems 159 which can be laptop computersor smartphones or other devices configured to conduct messaging sessionsas a helpdesk or surrogate for one or more businesses which haveregistered to conduct messaging sessions through a selected MSP. Themessaging system operated by a messaging service can also include abusiness messaging registration database 157 which receives informationto establish business messaging accounts through the data acquisitionportal server 155. As described further below, at least some of the datafrom the business messaging registration database 157 can be provided toone or more data processing servers 161 which update one or moresearchable databases with information from the business messagingregistration database 157 as described further below. In one embodiment,these one or more searchable databases can include at least a mapsdatabase 163 and another database 165 which store information which canbe searched by one or more search services servers 167 in response tosearch queries from one or more client devices, such as client devices171 and 173. In an alternative embodiment, the databases 163 and 165 canbe combined together into one database or be separated into more thantwo databases. The search services servers can also provide autocompletion or auto suggestions for search inputs in one embodiment.

FIG. 1 shows an example of a method which can be performed by amessaging system. Reference is made to a non-limiting example of amessaging system of FIG. 3. Messaging system controls one or moremessaging servers 169 as well as the data acquisition portal server 155and the business messaging registration database 157 and the dataprocessing servers 161 and the search services service servers 167according to one embodiment. Such a messaging service can alreadyprovide messaging services for members of the public who own or usedevices configured to operate with the messaging servers 169 to exchangemessages, such as text messages and messages containing images and othercontent with other users who own devices or use devices that areconfigured to also operate with such messaging servers. In operation 10,a messaging service can provide one or more data acquisition portals forregistration for the use of the messaging system. In one embodiment,these portals can be provided as webpages hosted by one or more dataacquisition portal servers 155, and these webpages can provide one ormore forms which can be completed by a business entity or otherorganization to provide information which is used in the registrationprocess to create a messaging account for a business. For example, amessaging system 151 owned or controlled by business A can be used toaccess webpages provided by the data acquisition portal server(s) 155,and such systems 151 can provide information in connection with a new orupdated business messaging account to be used by business A whichcontrols or operates the one or more messaging systems 151. Similarly,one or more messaging systems 153 owned or operated by business B canaccess the one or more data acquisition portal servers 155 to enterinformation requested or required by the messaging system in order toenroll the business in a messaging account for a business. Similarly,one or more messaging services platforms (MSP), such as the MSPmessaging systems 159 shown in FIG. 3, can also provide registrationinformation to a messaging system in order to enroll the MSP serviceprovider which can act as a helpdesk or surrogate for other registeredbusinesses which request that the MSP provide helpdesk or other servicesto the registered business. In one embodiment, the business B can electto use an MSP to provide helpdesk support for business B. Theinformation requested or required by the registration process, which canbe performed by one or more data acquisition portal servers 155, caninclude a variety of different information, such as company name,addresses, phone numbers, business type identification, companycontacts, URLs, brand information, location information, customizablefields, brand authorization information, limitations on initiation ofnew messaging sessions based on the amount of current messagingsessions, etc. Such information which can be requested or required forregistration of a messaging account for a business is described furtherbelow in conjunction with FIG. 4, which provides an example of variousfields which can be required or requested in the process of aregistration to create a business messaging account. The informationprovided by a business entity or other organization during theregistration process is received in operation 12 shown in the method ofFIG. 1, and this information can be stored in a business messagingregistration database, such as the business messaging registrationdatabase 157 which can be coupled to the one or more data acquisitionportal servers 155 as shown in FIG. 3.

After the registration information is stored in the registrationdatabase 157, at least a portion of that information can be provided toone or more database processing servers, such as the servers 161 inorder to perform operation 14 in FIG. 1, which involves updating one ormore searchable databases to provide at least one entry point to amessaging account of an organization such as a business. In oneembodiment, multiple searchable databases can be updated with theinformation from the registration database 157. In one embodiment, somebut not all of the information in the registration database 157 isprovided to the one or more searchable databases. Certain informationmay not be provided, such as information indicating limitations on theamount of concurrent or new or active messaging sessions or othermessage information or other registration information provided by abusiness during the process of registration for a business messagingaccount. Operation 14 shown in FIG. 1 can update a map database, such asmap database 163 and other databases such as one or more databases 165,which can include information about websites, media content such assongs, movies, books, etc., encyclopedias, and current news or othernews information, and information about social media (e.g., Twitter) andsocial media accounts, etc. Further information in connection with theother databases 165 can be found in pending U.S. patent application Ser.No. 14/503,138 filed on Sep. 30, 2014, and pending U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/503,226 filed on Sep. 30, 2014; theseapplications are incorporated by reference herein. The updating of oneor more searchable databases with information from the businessmessaging registration database allows client devices to search forinformation about various businesses on their devices and obtaininformation about those businesses as a result of such searches. In oneembodiment, the search results themselves can provide a selectablebusiness messaging option which the user can select in order to initiatea messaging session with the selected business. In another embodiment,the selection of a messaging option in a search result for a businesscan provide contact information on a separate sheet or page or carddisplayed on the system before the user invokes a messaging system, andsuch information can include alternative mechanisms for contacting thebusiness, such as email, telephone numbers, street addresses, and otherinformation which can be used as an alternative to a messaging session.In one embodiment, the one or more searchable databases can providemultiple entry points to a messaging session with an organization, suchas a business. For example, these entry points can include entering amessaging session from a search results page of a web browser search orentering a messaging session through the selection of a messaging optionon a search result page from a search conducted in a map application, orentering a messaging session through the selection of a messaging optionon a search result page from a system search utility, such as Spotlighton iOS devices or Mac OS computers from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif.Other entry points to a messaging session with an organization which hasan established business messaging account can include search resultsfrom a search using a maps application or service, contacts or addressbook application or service, a voice recognition search assistant, suchas Siri from Apple Inc. The updating of the searchable databases caninclude the entry of a plurality of data from the registration process,such as at least some of the data shown in FIG. 4 for a particularbusiness, and this information can then be searched for by one or moreusers and the results of these searches can bring up information aboutthe business, including a selectable user interface icon such as amessaging option icon displayed on a screen of a user device which canallow the user to select the icon to launch a message session with thebusiness.

After one or more businesses or other organizations register forbusiness messaging accounts and their information is updated into theone or more databases, searches can be performed on that information toyield search results which include a selectable messaging option thatcan be selected by a user to invoke or initiate a messaging session witha business or other organization. In one embodiment, the initiation of amessaging session can begin through search results provided in responseto a search query which can be received in operation 16 by the one ormore search services servers 167 which can be part of the same systemowned or controlled or operated by the messaging service which providesthe one or more messaging servers 169. The search results can beobtained after a search through the one or more searchable databases,such as databases 163 and 165 and the results from these searches can bereturned to the client device and displayed on the client device in auser interface, such as the user interfaces shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B. Asdescribed further below, these search results can be filtered orprocessed to determine whether or not to display messaging options withthe search results. A user can then select one of the displayedmessaging options (e.g., a chat or messaging icon) corresponding to amessaging account of a business or other organization in order toinitiate and establish a two-way messaging session between the user'sdevice and a device operated by or for the business or organization asshown in operation 18 in FIG. 1. In one embodiment, the business ororganization can include an initial response which indicates anestimated wait time or estimated response time to the user's initiationof the messaging session.

In one embodiment, the messaging session may not occur if the businesshas imposed a limitation on the amount of messaging sessions that can beinitiated or concurrently maintained or established with the business ororganization. The number of existing messaging sessions already inprogress with the business can be compared with a threshold set by thebusiness to determine whether to restrict new messaging sessions beforethey are initiated; if the number of existing messaging sessions exceedsthe threshold, then new messaging sessions can be throttled so they arenot initiated, while if the number of existing messaging sessions isless than the threshold, the new messaging sessions are not throttledand can be initiated. Further, other aspects such as recency in time ofa messaging session can also be taken into account when deciding whetherto throttle the initiation of new messaging sessions with the business.For example, the business or organization may impose a limitation basedupon whether the user is active or inactive, which can be a binarydecision based on, for example, recency of contact or messaging if theuser has recently engaged in a messaging session with the business. Forexample, if the business decides to impose such a limitation then themost recent messaging session can be evaluated for recency to determinewhether it is recent enough to be considered active. If it is too old orstale then the user may be characterized as an inactive user and may notbe able to establish a messaging session if too many messaging sessionsare already in progress at the current time (relative to a thresholdvalue set by the business) with the business organization. In anotherembodiment, multiple values based on recency or other criteria, such aspurchases or amount of purchases or other criteria may be used todetermine whether the user is given immediate or delayed access to amessaging session with the business. In another embodiment, if a usercloses a conversation, the business or organization can receive amessage indicating such closure and cause the user to be moved to aninactive status. Other techniques for limiting access by “inactive”users or customers of a business during heavy messaging traffic can beused to throttle the number of concurrent messaging sessions for abusiness in order to ensure adequate support for customers of a businessfor the most active users or customers of the business.

In one embodiment, the search results that are returned (e.g. searchresults returned in operation 16 of FIG. 1) can be filtered or checkedagainst conditions (e.g., limitations to throttle initiation ofmessaging sessions for a business) or other criteria that are evaluatedto determine whether or not to display, in the search result, amessaging option (such as messaging option 263 shown in FIG. 6A). Thefiltering or checking can occur prior to returning (e.g. transmitting)the search results to a client device or can occur after transmittingthe search results, and one or both of the search server (or otherservers) and client device can perform the filtering or checking. Theconditions or other criteria can include (1) business factors; or (2)user specific factors; or (3) messaging service factors. The businessfactors can include one or more of (a) the current time is outside of aspecified time period in which the business conducts messaging sessions(e.g., local current time is 3:00 am and the business is closed) or (b)the business has communicated a signal to the messaging service to notinitiate new messaging sessions; or (c) specified limitations forthrottling initiation of new messaging sessions are currently exceeded,where the limitations can be specified in the business's accountinformation and the throttling can be automatically performed by notshowing a messaging option for the business in the search results whenthe limitations are exceeded for the business. The user specific factorscan include a requirement for authorization data which validates that auser device is authorized to conduct a messaging session with thebusiness; the business can require such data when the business is, forexample, in a test mode and wants to limit access to its messagingsessions to only authorized users (e.g. employees of the business). Themessaging service factors can include a setting used by the messagingservice to stop a business's use of the messaging service (e.g., thebusiness engages in illegal activities and a government body requeststhe messaging service to cease providing messaging sessions for thebusiness).

In one embodiment, the messaging session for a business may be performedby a surrogate, such as a messaging services platform (MSP) that can actas a helpdesk or surrogate for a business or organization in order toconduct messaging sessions; for example, a messaging services platformcan act as a helpdesk for a business and respond to messages fromcustomers or users of the business and hence act as a surrogate for thebusiness. In one embodiment, the account information specified by abusiness during the business registration process to establish abusiness messaging account can include information which specifies oneor more messaging services platforms that can act as a helpdesk orsurrogate for the business for the purposes of conducting messagingsessions with customers or users of the business or organization. In oneembodiment, the MSP can register the business with the messaging serviceand can generate an API (Application Programming Interface) prefix forthe MSP and a set of publically accessible http endpoints so that theMSP can conduct messaging sessions on behalf of the business. Furtherdetails of one particular embodiment for using MSPs are provided in theAppendix.

In one embodiment, some or all of the account information can be storedon a message registry stored on one or more servers by the messagingsystem and/or a messaging identification system that uses one or moremessaging identifiers of an organization or business in order toinitiate a messaging session. In one embodiment, the messagingidentification system can include one or more identification serversthat receive identification information from a messaging application ona device, and this messaging identification information can be used todetermine the account associated with the device and other informationassociated with the device in order to establish a messaging sessionwith the device and another device which is also configured to operatewith the messaging system. In one embodiment, a messaging session can beestablished by the message identification system providing connectioninformation about one or more devices of a business in order to allow auser or customer of the business to establish a messaging connectionwith the system of the business. In one embodiment, the connectioninformation can include one or more push notification tokens that areused by each device in the messaging session in order to allow pushmessages to be conveyed to recipient devices during a messaging session.

In one embodiment, a business or organization can embed informationwithin the messages during a messaging session, such as embedded dataspecifying a purpose or intent for the message and other embedded datasuch as embedded data specifying a group or location within the businesswhich is responsible for receiving and sending messages during amessaging session with a customer or user of the business ororganization. The data specifying a purpose or intent for the messagescan be a way for the business or organization to characterize orcategorize a topic or purpose for a messaging session. Several examplesare provided herein for such topics or purposes in order to allow thebusiness or organization to route the messaging session to theappropriate people within a business organization in order to conductthe messaging session properly. For example, the data specifying apurpose or intent may specify that the messaging session is inconnection with a repair for a customer or user of the business or mayspecify that the purpose or intent of the messages in a particularmessaging session relates to an order status or other transaction inconnection with the business or organization.

A method which can be performed by a client device, such as clientdevice 171 or 173 shown in FIG. 3, will now be described while referringto FIG. 2. In operation 101, a client device can display a messagingoption for an organization such as a business and this messaging optioncan be selected by a user and, when selected, it can establish a two-waymessaging session with the organization and the user's device whichdisplays the messaging option. In one embodiment, the messaging optioncan be displayed in a non-messaging application or within a searchresult such as the examples shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B. In one embodiment,the messaging option can be a chat or messaging button which a user canselect to initiate the messaging session. Examples of such displayedmessaging options include messaging option 263, shown in FIG. 6A,messaging option 313 shown in FIG. 6B and messaging option 404 shown inFIG. 7B. When the messaging option is selected by a user of a clientdevice, the messaging application can use information associated withthe messaging option, including, for example, a messaging identifier foruse by a messaging identification system which can be used to specify orobtain the appropriate messaging connection information in order toestablish the messaging session with an organization such as a business.In one embodiment, the messaging identifier can specify a cloud storageaccount for sending, receiving and storing messages. When a messagingoption is selected in a non-messaging application, a call to themessaging application can be generated and can include the messagingidentifier for use by a messaging identification system in order toestablish the messaging session with the organization. This call canoccur in response to receiving on the user's device, a selection of themessaging option, which is shown as operation 103 in FIG. 2. In responseto that selection, the user's device, such as client device 171 orclient device 173 establishes, in a messaging application on the userdevice, a two-way messaging session between the organization and theuser device using account information for the organization. In oneembodiment, the organization can then provide as an immediate or nearimmediate response, an estimated response time or wait time, andexamples of such estimated response time or wait time are providedfurther below. In one embodiment, the two-way messaging session can lastfor an extended period of time and be stored in a transcript of theconversation over that extended period of time, and the transcript canbe stored on the user's device and on one or more devices operated bythe organization. The conversation with the organization can bedisplayed in a list of conversations on the user device, and that listcan include conversations with other users who are not businesses.Moreover, the conversations in the list can be archived (e.g. in cloudstorage) and be synchronized across different devices of the same user.Thus, a customer of a business can, through a user's device, initiate amessaging session with the business on Monday and then turn off theuser's device, and then resume the messaging session two days later onthe same or different user device and then resume the messaging sessionagain on the following Monday (on the same or different user device)with the entire set of messages stored in the transcript that definesthe conversation with the business.

FIG. 4 shows an example of various data fields which can be used duringa registration process in which a business sets up a messaging accountthrough the use, for example, of a data acquisition portal server, suchas the one or more data acquisition portal servers 155. In oneembodiment, a representative of the organization such as a business canuse a web browser to get access to the portal, which can then presentthe various data fields to allow someone to enter data into those fieldsas part of the registration process to obtain a business messagingaccount. While some of the information may be required other informationcan be optional, such as whether the business wants to use a messagingservice platform (MSP), or whether the business wants to specifylocations or use customizable fields or wants to specify brandauthorization or wants to specify limitations on the amount ofconcurrent messaging sessions for the business. Some of the informationrequired by these data fields can include company name, one or moreaddresses for the company, one or more phone numbers, a specification ofone or more business types that the business engages in, one or morecompany contacts and one or more URLs. The business may also specifybrand information such as a logo or name which can be a trademark orservice mark of the business in one embodiment. If the business desiresto use an MSP as a helpdesk or surrogate to receive and respond tomessages with customers or users of the business, then the business canspecify or select one or more messaging service platforms to serve as ahelpdesk or surrogate for the business. If the business has one or morephysical locations which can be a store or other facility, the businesscan also specify those locations including the name of the location, theaddress of the location, one or more phone numbers, the hours ofbusiness in which the business is open and available to servicecustomers, one or more URLs, etc. The data fields may also include oneor more customizable fields that can be specified by a business and usedin certain messaging sessions. The data fields used in the registrationprocess can also include information in connection with brandauthorization indicating the brands that the business is authorized tocarry or sell in one embodiment. Further, one or more of the data fieldsin the registration process can include fields designed to acceptconfiguration data specifying limitations on the amount of concurrentmessaging sessions for the business and this data can be used tothrottle the initiation of new messaging sessions for the business.These limitations can take a variety of different forms and can be basedupon whether or not a user is considered active or inactive. In oneembodiment, the limitation may be a binary on or off limitation thatdefines users or customers as active or inactive. Active users orcustomers may be defined as those who have conducted a messaging sessionwith the business in the last, for example, six months. In other words,the characterization of a customer or user as active or inactive can bebased upon recency of a messaging session in one embodiment. In otherembodiments, the characterization of a business user or customer asactive or inactive can be based upon other criteria, such as the numberof purchases or the amount of purchases in a currency value, etc. In oneembodiment, the limitation can be dynamically adjusted over time by thebusiness entity modifying settings in the business's messaging accountand changing one or more values in the messaging account with respect tothese limitations.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a client device 201 which can include aplurality of different software applications that can execute on theclient device 201 and that can be used as an entry point into amessaging session provided by a messaging application, such a messagingapplication 217 shown in FIG. 5. For example, the client device 201 caninclude a web browser 203, one or more user applications 205, a mapapplication 207, a system search utility application 209 such asSpotlight, a search recognition assistant 211 such as Siri on iOSdevices and on OS X computers, an email application 213 and themessaging application 217. Other applications on client device 201 thatcan provide an entry point into a messaging session can include: acontact/address book application; a dialer application; a walletapplication; or a QR code application that receives an image andprocesses the image to extract a request to initiate a messaging sessionwith a business. The user of the client device 201 can enter searchqueries into the web browser 203 or the map application 207 or thesystem search utility 209 or the search recognition assistant 211, andin each case search results can include one or more messaging optionswhich can be selected by a user to initiate or establish a messagingsession with a business which has established a business messagingaccount as described herein. In one embodiment, the selection of themessaging option may immediately invoke the messaging application 217,causing the messaging application to appear and causing an initialresponse from the business to initially appear either immediately ornearly immediately. In the case of the system search utility 209, thesearch may be performed through local searchable content 219 which canbe indexed full-text content stored on the client device 201, as well asindexed metadata stored on the client device 201, and furtherinformation in connection with such a system wide search utility can befound in U.S. Pat. No. 7,437,358 which is hereby incorporated herein byreference. In addition, the system search utility 209 may also cause asearch of remote content such as a search of the maps database 163 and asearch of the database 165 which can include text content and contentsuch as images, songs, movies, etc. The searching of the database 165 toprovide content back to the client device through the system searchutility 209 can be implemented using one or more of the embodimentsdescribed in the following published U.S. patent applications which arehereby incorporated herein by reference: U.S. patent application Ser.No. 14/503,138 filed on Sep. 30, 2014, and pending U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/503,226 filed on Sep. 30, 2014. In oneembodiment, the selection of the messaging option can cause the displayof a business card or contact sheet or other contact information for abusiness prior to initiating or establishing a messaging session withthe business; this can be done to allow the user to browse the contactinformation before engaging in a messaging session to ensure the userhas selected the appropriate business. FIG. 11C shows an example ofcontact data which can be displayed either prior to the initiation of amessaging session or during a messaging session with the business. Inone embodiment, both the system search utility 209 and the searchrecognition assistant 211 can search both the local searchable content219 as well as the remote databases, such as database 163 and database165. Further, in one embodiment, the web browser may also search themaps database 163 and the database 165 when performing a search basedupon a search query entered into the web browser 203. The applications205 can be, for example, an application provided by the business whichincludes a messaging option such as a chat button which can be selectedby the user to initiate a messaging session with the business.

In one embodiment, a business may also send an email to a client devicewhich can then be displayed by an email application on the clientdevice, such as email application 213, and this email can include amessaging option such as a chat button or messaging button within theemail. The messaging option within the email can be selected by theuser, which can then cause the initiation or establishment of amessaging session with the business.

FIG. 6A shows an example of a set of search results, which can beprovided by, for example, a search by the web browser 203 or a search bythe system search utility 209 or a search by the search recognitionassistant 211 (e.g., Ski from Apple Inc.) in one embodiment. The window250 includes a text entry field 253 which shows the entered text 255which was entered by the user as the search query. The user can deletethe entered text by selecting the delete button 257 and enter new textinto the text entry field 253 to cause a new search to be performed. Thetext can be entered through an on-screen keyboard, such as on-screenkeyboard 257 shown in the lower portion of window 250 in FIG. 6A. Thelist of search results 259 can include a search result 261 for aparticular business which has established a business messaging accountaccording to one or more embodiments described herein. The search resultfor that business includes a messaging option 263 which can be alsoreferred to as a chat button. In one embodiment, messaging option 263 isnot displayed in the search result if the one or more limitations on thenumber of messaging sessions with the business causes throttling of theinitiation of new messaging sessions. If the user selects the messagingoption 263 by, for example, touching or tapping or clicking themessaging option 263, then a messaging session can be initiated andestablished with the business associated with that messaging account. Inthis case the business is known as the “Spring Cleaning Company” asshown within the search results 259.

FIG. 6B shows an example of search results from a map application, suchas map application 207. A map is displayed by the map application withinwindow 300 and the user has selected a particular location 309 which isassociated with a business that was found by the search performed by themap application 207. The search input shown as entered text 305 appearswithin the text entry field 303, and the user can invoke a new search byselecting the delete button 307 and entering new text into the textentry field 303. In the example shown in FIG. 6B, the user has selectedthe location 309 which is the location for a business known as the“Spring Cleaning Company” as shown by the information bubble 311, whichis associated with the location 309 shown on the map within window 300.The information bubble 311 includes a selectable messaging option 313which the user can select to initiate a messaging session with thecompany associated with the messaging account established by the “SpringCleaning Company” through the one or more embodiments described herein.Selecting the messaging option 313 can immediately invoke or launch amessaging application, such as messaging application 217, or in analternative embodiment, a contact sheet or other contact information orbusiness card of the business can be displayed prior to initiating orlaunching the messaging application. In one embodiment, the messagingoption 313 is not displayed in the map or bubble 311 if the initiationof new messaging sessions has been throttled by limitations set by thebusiness.

In addition to performing a search and showing search results thatinclude one or more chat buttons, a speech recognition assistant canalso recognize a user's spoken request to either initiate or resume amessaging session with a business. For example, a user can speak “send amessage to Spring Cleaning Company” and the speech recognition assistantcan recognize this spoken phrase as a request to initiate a messagingsession (if not previously established) or resume a previouslyestablished messaging session.

FIGS. 7A through 7N show an example of a messaging session between abusiness and a customer of the business according to one embodiment. Themessaging session is shown on a smartphone 401 which can be thecustomer's device and can be similar to client device 171 or clientdevice 173, which communicates through one or more messaging servers 169with one or more messaging systems at the business, such as messagingsystem 151 or messaging system 153 shown in FIG. 3. The messagingsession occurs after the business enters account information into aregistration database and also after one or more message identifiers foruse by a messaging identification system are also established for thebusiness so that one or more messaging identification servers canproperly identify the business and account information necessary toestablish the messaging session in one embodiment. The messaging sessioncan begin as shown in FIG. 7A with the user interface of the messagingapplication on the device or smartphone 401 shown or displayed on thescreen of the device or smartphone 401. The user interface includes anon-screen keyboard 402 and an area immediately above the on-screenkeyboard for entry of text, and an area above that for the display of amessage transcript. Near the top of the screen is a “to” text entryfield 403 into which a user can enter a name associated with themessaging account in the messaging system. In the example shown in FIG.7B, the user has begun to enter the phrase “Apple support” into the “to”text entry field 403, and the device responds by displaying a messagingoption 404 which can be selected to initiate a text messaging sessionwith the business associated with this messaging account. The entry oftext into the text entry field 403 may cause a search through contactslocally stored on smartphone 401 or remotely stored in one or moredatabases, such as a contact database in cloud storage or the mapsdatabase 163 or the database 165. The user can select the messagingoption 404 by tapping or touching the messaging option 404 which canresult in the messaging application presenting the user interface shownin FIG. 7C. In this user interface, the messaging application presents aset of possible topics which the user can select in a messaging sessionwith a business or a group within the business; the set of possibletopics is shown as topic picker 405 which can result from (or be) theinitial response from the business. In this instance, the group withinthe business is a support group which provides support to customers ofthe business. The user interface shown in FIG. 7C presents the topicpicker 405 which allows the customer to pick one of the topics for themessaging session. In one embodiment, the topic can represent an intentidentifier or a group identifier for purposes of the messaging sessionand this data about the intent and group can be passed back and forth,in a manner which is similar to how cookies are passed back and forth ina web browsing session. The passing of the intent and group informationback and forth during the messaging session allows a business tocategorize a messaging session in order to appropriately deal with themessaging session both in terms of who or what group within a businesshandles the messaging session and the purpose of the messaging sessionand also how the messaging session can be structured in function andoperation. In one embodiment, after the user selects a topic from thetopic picker 405, the messaging application can present the next userinterface shown in FIG. 7D, in which bubble 407 is shown in the messagetranscript 408. Bubble 407 is an example of an initial response from abusiness after a messaging session has been initiated. In oneembodiment, this initial response can include an estimated response timeor estimated wait time. In the example shown in FIG. 7D, the message inmessage bubble 407 requests that the user send questions to thebusiness, which the user does as shown in FIG. 7E in which the user hasentered text into the text staging area 409 and then causes that text tobe sent as the next message in the messaging session as shown in FIG.7F. The message transcript 408 shown in FIG. 7F now includes messagebubble 407 and message bubble 411. As shown in FIG. 7D, at some pointduring the messaging session an alert 415 is presented on the smartphone401 asking the user whether the user will allow the business to accesscertain user information in connection with the user during themessaging session. In this case, information about the customer relativeto the business may be stored on the smartphone 401 or may be storedremotely in a database of the business, and in either case, the user isasked to allow or not allow the use of that information as part of themessaging session. If the user selects the allow option 414, then themessaging session can use that information and the user of smartphone401 will not need to enter that information separately during themessaging session if it turns out that the information is required forpurposes of the messaging session. If the user selects the “don't allow”option 413 then the user may have to enter such information during themessaging session. It will be appreciated that the alert 415 can bepresented at different times during the messaging session, such as nearthe end of the messaging session rather than the beginning of amessaging session. A further response is received by the smartphone 401as shown in FIG. 7F, in which two additional message bubbles are nowshown in the message transcript 408. In particular, message bubble 417and message bubble 419 now appear within the message transcript 408.Message bubble 419 asks the user whether the user would like to schedulean appointment to repair smartphone 401. As shown in FIG. 7I, the user'ssmartphone 401 responded to the message in message bubble 419 with themessage shown within message bubble 421, which indicates that the userdoes want to schedule an appointment for a repair. In response, thebusiness responds with bubble 423 and an image 424 and a schedulingbutton 425. In response to the selection of the scheduling bubble 425 aset of one or more available stores are displayed within the messagingapplication as shown in FIG. 7J. In the example of FIG. 7J, severalavailable locations to schedule an appointment include locations 427 and428. The user can then select one of the locations which can result inthe display of available times at that location as shown in FIG. 7K. Themessaging application as shown in FIG. 7K now displays a set of dates430 and available times at the particular location, including time 429which the user can select which will then cause the messaging app tosend the user's selection of the location and the time back to thebusiness when the user selects the send button 433 in FIG. 7L. Theselection of the time 429 as shown in FIG. 7K can result in the displayof the user interface shown in FIG. 7L, in which the selected option 431for both the location and the time are shown before the message is sent.After the message is sent by the selection of the send button 433, themessage bubble 431A appears in the transcript 408, and then the businessresponds with the message shown in message bubble 433 which confirms theappointment at a particular location selected by the user and at thetime and date selected by the user. Further messages can be exchangedbetween the customer and the business as shown in FIG. 7N by theadditional message bubbles 436 and 437 which appear after message bubble435 within the transcript 408.

FIGS. 8A and 8B show an alternative embodiment for a topic picker whichis shown as topic picker 467, which suggests possible questions ortopics for a user to enter into the text staging area 465 using theon-screen keyboard 463. In the example shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, themessaging application in one embodiment has already established amessaging session with the business and the business can respond with atopic picker 469 to guide the user through the process of selecting atopic which in one embodiment can be an intent identifier or a groupidentifier depending on how the business wants to define a messagingsession.

FIGS. 9A, 9B, 9C, 9D, 9E, and 9F show an alternative embodiment forscheduling an appointment in a messaging session. In this embodiment,the user of a smartphone 501 has initiated a messaging session with thebusiness and the message transcript 503 includes message bubbles 508,505, and 506 along with the store selector which includes a storeselector button 507 which the user can select to cause the display ofthe user interface within the messaging application shown in FIG. 9B.The smartphone 501 also includes an on-screen keyboard 502 and a textstaging area 504 shown within the user interface of the messagingapplication. In the user interface for the store selector shown in FIG.9B, one or more store locations can be presented, such as locations 509and 511 which the user can select. In the example shown in FIG. 9B, theuser has selected the store location at Union Square causing themessaging application to present an image of the store at Union Squareas image 514. The user can send the selected store location by selectingthe send button 515. Once the send button 515 is selected, the selectedstore is sent back in the messaging session to the business and nowappears within the message transcript 503 in the message bubble 517shown in FIG. 9D. The business can then respond in the messaging sessionby sending back text within the message bubble 519, which prompts theuser to select one of the available times at the selected location. Theuser can then select the time selector button 520 to cause thepresentation within the messaging application of available times anddates as shown in FIG. 9F. The user can select one of the dates alongdates input region 523 and one of the times such as times 525 and 524.Once the user has selected a date and a time, a message can be sent backto the business with the selected date and time for the previouslyselected store, which causes the message bubble 517 to be updated asmessage bubble 517B after the user selects the send button 515 shown inFIG. 9G. The selection of the send button 515 causes the selection ofthe time for the previously selected store to be transmitted as anothermessage in the messaging session, and the business can respond with aconfirmation message shown within message bubble 531. Further additionalmessage bubbles can also reflect further messages (such as messagebubbles 535 and 537) in the messaging session after the confirmationshown within message bubble 531.

FIGS. 10A, 10B, and 10C illustrate an embodiment in which userinformation or customer information can be provided to a business duringa messaging session with the business. In this example, a user is usingsmartphone 601 to conduct a messaging session with a business from whichthe user buys goods or services. The beginning of the messaging sessioncan include the display of a topic picker 603 which can be a messagesent from the business to the user as a response to the initial textmessage from the user or as a response to the initiation of themessaging session with the business. In the example shown in FIG. 10A,the topic picker includes a topic “account settings and bill payment” asoption or topic 605. In this instance, the user selects topic 605causing the presentation of the user interface of the messaging appshown in FIG. 10B. The messaging app includes the message transcript 607and two message bubbles 609 and 611 along with an on-screen keyboard602. Message bubble 609 shows that the business has responded to theselected topic of topic 605 with a message indicating the estimatedresponse or wait time in message bubble 609. In response, the userenters a question as shown in message bubble 611 and at some point, thebusiness can respond with a request for user information from the user,such as a user name or password or more, depending on the informationrequired by the business. The user can enter the user requestedinformation and then select the sign in button 615 to continue themessaging session with the business. In one embodiment, if the user hasalready been authenticated within the business's on-device applicationor web site (e.g., through entry of a user name and password), then thebusiness may use the authentication within the messaging application andnot require the user to re-enter the authentication credentials. In anembodiment, a payment option presented to the user can be Apple Pay. Ifuse of Apple Pay is selected, a place card displaying an itemized billcan be displayed.

FIGS. 11A, 11B, and 11C show an example of how a user can obtaininformation about the business during a messaging session. In thisexample, the user is near the end of a messaging session shown in theexample provided above relative to FIGS. 7A through 7N. FIG. 11A showsthe end of that messaging session on smartphone 401 and shows that aninformation button 439 is available for the user to select which cancause the display of information shown in FIG. 11B. This informationincludes options which can be selected including contact option 445 todisplay contact information 449 shown in FIG. 11C for the business. Thiscontact information 449 can include location information, websiteinformation, one or more phone numbers and other information. Moreover,the contact information can also include user selectable options toinitiate a phone call or a messaging session or display informationabout a location on a map. As shown in FIG. 11B, the information aboutthe business can include various selectable options that allow the userto send the user's current location (option 441), or share the user'scurrent location (option 442) or take other actions such as requestingthat the user not be disturbed (option 443). In addition, the detailsshown in the user interface of FIG. 11B can include additional options444 to cause the presentation of other information about the business orthe user's account with the business.

In one embodiment, a messaging session between a user and a business canexist (and remain stored in a transcript on the user's device) until thesession is closed by the user. A user can, in one embodiment, managetheir messaging preferences by, for example, selectively unsubscribingfrom specific types of messages or selectively muting (e.g., turning offnotifications) specific types of messages or by “muting” an entireconversation so that the user continues to receive messages in thebackground without the presentation (e.g., alerts or sounds or displayof alerts) of notifications. Some messages in a conversation with abusiness can cause a notification (e.g., a sound or displayed alert orboth) to be presented (when the messaging application is a backgroundapplication) while other types of messages may not cause anynotifications. In one embodiment, the notification can be displayed on alock screen (when the device is locked) if the message has a highpriority, while low priority messages may not be displayed on the lockscreen.

In one embodiment, a business can use its messaging session with a userto invoke a business process or flow. For example, a messaging extensionapplication of the business can be invoked within the messagingapplication to process information or control the flow of the messagingsession according to the business's desired business process or flow.For example, a user can request, through an initiated messaging session,an airline to change a seating arrangement, and the airline's messagingextension application can impose or direct a business process or flow tocause the user to follow the process or flow in order to change aseating arrangement on an airplane. Further, a business can set a flagon some of its messages so some of those messages are not replyable (theuser cannot reply to the message that has been “flagged” by thebusiness).

In another embodiment, a messaging session with a business can involvetwo or more persons or devices and the business who interact through theconversation with a customer of the business. For example, a user caninitiate a service request with a business and begin the messagingsession with a first employee of the business and the session continuesafter a second employee joins the session.

In one embodiment, a user's device can use its determined location tonotify (through a notification) a user that a messaging session can beinitiated (or resumed) based upon the determined location. For example,if the user is near a store of a business and has recently been involvedin a messaging session with the business, the user's device can, usinglocation techniques such as GPS, etc. determine the proximity to thestore and determine that a recent messaging session involves the storeor business and in response the user's device can present a notificationto ask if the user would like to resume the messaging session.

The systems and methods described herein can be implemented in a varietyof different data processing systems and devices, includinggeneral-purpose computer systems, special purpose computer systems, or ahybrid of general purpose and special purpose computer systems.Exemplary data processing systems that can use any one of the methodsdescribed herein include server systems, desktop computers, laptopcomputers, tablet computers, smart phones, cellular telephones, personaldigital assistants (PDAs), embedded electronic devices, or consumerelectronic devices.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of data processing system hardware accordingto an embodiment. Note that while FIG. 12 illustrates the variouscomponents of a data processing system that may be incorporated into amobile or handheld device or a server system, it is not intended torepresent any particular architecture or manner of interconnecting thecomponents as such details are not germane to the present invention. Itwill also be appreciated that other types of data processing systemsthat have fewer components than shown or more components than shown inFIG. 12 can also be used with the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 12, the data processing system includes one or morebuses 1309 that serve to interconnect the various components of thesystem. One or more processors 1303 are coupled to the one or more buses1309 as is known in the art. Memory 1305 may be DRAM or non-volatile RAMor may be flash memory or other types of memory or a combination of suchmemory devices. This memory is coupled to the one or more buses 1309using techniques known in the art. The data processing system can alsoinclude non-volatile memory 1307, which may be a hard disk drive or aflash memory or a magnetic optical drive or magnetic memory or anoptical drive or other types of memory systems that maintain data evenafter power is removed from the system. The non-volatile memory 1307 andthe memory 1305 are both coupled to the one or more buses 1309 usingknown interfaces and connection techniques. A display controller 1322 iscoupled to the one or more buses 1309 in order to receive display datato be displayed on a display device 1323. The display device 1323 caninclude an integrated touch input to provide a touch screen. The dataprocessing system can also include one or more input/output (I/O)controllers 1315 which provide interfaces for one or more I/O devices,such as one or more mice, touch screens, touch pads, joysticks, andother input devices including those known in the art and output devices(e.g. speakers). The input/output devices 1317 are coupled through oneor more I/O controllers 1315 as is known in the art.

While FIG. 12 shows that the non-volatile memory 1307 and the memory1305 are coupled to the one or more buses directly rather than through anetwork interface, it will be appreciated that the present invention canutilize non-volatile memory that is remote from the system, such as anetwork storage device which is coupled to the data processing systemthrough a network interface such as a modem or Ethernet interface. Thebuses 1309 can be connected to each other through various bridges,controllers and/or adapters as is well known in the art. In oneembodiment the I/O controller 1315 includes one or more of a USB(Universal Serial Bus) adapter for controlling USB peripherals, an IEEE1394 controller for IEEE 1394 compliant peripherals, or a Thunderboltcontroller for controlling Thunderbolt peripherals. In one embodiment,one or more network device(s) 1325 can be coupled to the bus(es) 1309.The network device(s) 1325 can be wired network devices (e.g., Ethernet)or wireless network devices (e.g., WiFi, Bluetooth).

It will be apparent from this description that aspects of the presentinvention may be embodied, at least in part, in software. That is, thetechniques may be carried out in a data processing system in response toits processor executing a sequence of instructions contained in astorage medium, such as a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium(e.g. volatile DRAM or non-volatile flash memory). In variousembodiments, hardwired circuitry may be used in combination withsoftware instructions to implement the present invention. Thus thetechniques are not limited to any specific combination of hardwarecircuitry and software, or to any particular source for the instructionsexecuted by the data processing system. Moreover, it will be understoodthat where mobile or handheld devices are described, the descriptionencompasses mobile devices (e.g., laptop devices, tablet devices),speaker systems with integrated computing capabilities, handheld devices(e.g., smartphones), as well as embedded systems suitable for use inwearable electronic devices.

In the foregoing specification, specific exemplary embodiments have beendescribed. It will be evident that various modifications may be made tothose embodiments without departing from the broader spirit and scopeset forth in the following claims. The specification and drawings are,accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative sense rather than arestrictive sense.

What is claimed is:
 1. A non-transitory machine readable medium storinginstructions which when executed by one or more data processing systemscause the one or more data processing systems to perform a methodcomprising: receiving and storing account information from a pluralityof organizations including a first organization, the account informationused to create one or more messaging accounts for each organization toconduct one or more messaging sessions with customers or users of eachorganization through a messaging system that provides a messagingservice to a plurality of user devices that each include a messagingapplication that is configured to send and receive messages through themessaging system, wherein a first account information for the firstorganization includes data specifying one or more limitations on theamount of online messaging sessions that can be initiated or maintainedor established with the first organization; receiving a request, from afirst user device, to initiate a messaging session with the firstorganization; determining whether an amount of online messaging sessionsbetween the first organization and a plurality of customers or users ofthe first organization exceeds the one or more limitations for the firstorganization; initiating the messaging session between the first userdevice and the first organization when the determined amount does notexceed the one or more limitations.
 2. The medium as in claim 1 whereinthe messaging system includes one or more messaging servers that areused by members of the public to send text messages and other content toother members of the public in addition to use by the organizations toconduct messaging sessions with the customers or users of theorganization.
 3. The medium as in claim 1 wherein the first accountinformation includes at least one or more of the following: (a) amessaging identifier for use by a messaging identification system, themessaging identifier specifying a cloud messaging account for sending,receiving and storing messages; (b) brand information for the firstorganization; (c) data specifying to whom, within the firstorganization, a messaging session is directed; (d) data specifying towhich devices, of the first organization, a messaging session isdirected; (e) location information for one or more stores or facilitiesof the first organization; (f) a selected messaging services platformthat acts as a helpdesk or surrogate for the first organization; or (g)one or more customizable fields that can receive customized data fromthe first organization.
 4. The medium as in claim 3 wherein the firstaccount information specifies whether the select messaging servicesplatform responds on behalf of the first organization.
 5. The medium asin claim 3 wherein a first response from the first organization in themessaging session includes an estimated response time or wait time. 6.The medium as in claim 3 wherein at least some of the accountinformation is stored on one or more of: (a) a message registry or (b) amessage identification system that uses one or more messagingidentifiers of the first organization to initiate the messaging session,and wherein the messaging session is established by the messagingidentification system providing connection information about one or moredevices of the first organization which send and receive messagesthrough one or more messaging servers.
 7. The medium as in claim 3wherein the data specifying one or more limitations includes at leastone of: (a) a value representing a threshold number of existingmessaging sessions with the first organization; or (b) a valuerepresenting a portion of users who have a messaging account with themessaging system; or (c) a flag set in response to a signal from thefirst organization to not initiate new messaging sessions.
 8. The mediumas in claim 1, wherein the method further comprises: transmitting searchresults to the first user device, the search results showing items foundin a search through one or more searchable databases containing accountinformation of the plurality of organizations, wherein the searchresults display a messaging option when the determined amount does notexceed the one or more limitations and the messaging option is notdisplayed in the search results when the determined amount does exceedthe one or more limitations.
 9. The medium as in claim 8, wherein themessaging session is initiated in response to receipt of a userselection of the displayed messaging option in the search result. 10.The medium as in claim 9 wherein at least one of the messages in themessaging session include first data specifying a purpose or intent forthe messages and second data specified by the first organization; andwherein the one or more searchable databases provide multiple entrypoints to a messaging session with the first organization; and whereinthe multiple entry points include at least two or more of: (a) a searchusing a web browser; (b) a search using a search application configuredto search local content and remote content; and (c) a search using a mapapplication; and (d) a speech recognition assistant configured toreceive and respond to search queries.
 11. A method performed by one ormore data processing systems, the method comprising: receiving andstoring account information from a plurality of organizations includinga first organization, the account information used to create one or moremessaging accounts for each organization to conduct one or moremessaging sessions with customers or users of each organization througha messaging system that provides a messaging service to a plurality ofuser devices that each include a messaging application that isconfigured to send and receive messages through the messaging system,wherein a first account information for the first organization includesdata specifying one or more limitations on the amount of onlinemessaging sessions that can be initiated or maintained or establishedwith the first organization; receiving a request, from a first userdevice, to initiate a messaging session with the first organization;determining whether an amount of online messaging sessions between thefirst organization and a plurality of customers or users of the firstorganization exceeds the one or more limitations for the firstorganization; initiating the messaging session between the first userdevice and the first organization when the determined amount does notexceed the one or more limitations.
 12. The method as in claim 11wherein the messaging system includes the one or more messaging serversthat are used by members of the public to send text messages and othercontent to other members of the public in addition to use by theorganizations to conduct messaging sessions with the customers or usersof the organization.
 13. The method as in claim 11 wherein the firstaccount information includes at least one or more of the following: (a)a messaging identifier for use by a messaging identification system, themessaging identifier specifying a cloud messaging account for sending,receiving and storing messages; (b) brand information for the firstorganization; (c) data specifying to whom, within the firstorganization, a messaging session is directed; (d) data specifying towhich devices, of the first organization, a messaging session isdirected; (e) location information for one or more stores or facilitiesof the first organization; (f) a selected messaging services platformthat acts as a helpdesk or surrogate for the first organization; or (g)one or more customizable fields that can receive customized data fromthe first organization.
 14. The method as in claim 13 wherein the firstaccount information specifies whether the select messaging servicesplatform responds on behalf of the first organization.
 15. The method asin claim 13 wherein a first response from the first organization in themessaging session includes an estimated response time or wait time. 16.The method as in claim 13 wherein at least some of the accountinformation is stored on one or more of: (a) a message registry or (b) amessage identification system that uses one or more messagingidentifiers of the first organization to initiate the messaging session,and wherein the messaging session is established by the messagingidentification system providing connection information about one or moredevices of the first organization which send and receive messagesthrough one or more messaging servers.
 17. The method as in claim 13wherein the data specifying one or more limitations includes at leastone of: (a) a value representing a threshold number of existingmessaging sessions with the first organization; or (b) a valuerepresenting a portion of users who have a messaging account with themessaging system; or (c) a flag set in response to a signal from thefirst organization to not initiate new messaging sessions.
 18. Themethod as in claim 11, wherein the method further comprises:transmitting search results to the first user device, the search resultsshowing items found in a search through one or more searchable databasescontaining account information of the plurality of organizations,wherein the search results display a messaging option when thedetermined amount does not exceed the one or more limitations and themessaging option is not displayed in the search results when thedetermined amount does exceed the one or more limitations.
 19. Themethod as in claim 18, wherein the messaging session is initiated inresponse to receipt of a user selection of the displayed messagingoption in the search result.
 20. The method as in claim 19 wherein atleast one of the messages in the messaging session include first dataspecifying a purpose or intent for the messages and second dataspecified by the first organization; and wherein the one or moresearchable databases provide multiple entry points to a messagingsession with the first organization; and wherein the multiple entrypoints include at least two or more of: (a) a search using a webbrowser; (b) a search using a search application configured to searchlocal content and remote content; and (c) a search using a mapapplication; and (d) a speech recognition assistant configured toreceive and respond to search queries.